Results of a recent study suggest that people with osteoporosis should be tested for celiac disease. Researchers found a higher prevalence of celiac disease in people with osteoporosis than in the general population.
When researchers evaluated 840 people from the Washington University Bone Clinic -- 266 had osteoporosis; the remaining 574 did not -- they found that people with osteoporosis were 17 percent more likely to have celiac disease. People with celiac disease are gluten intolerant and also have a lower bone mineral density (BMD). "[T]he more severe the celiac disease, the more severe the resulting osteoporosis," the authors wrote.
The relationship between the two diseases was prevalent enough for the researchers to recommend routine celiac disease screening for all people with osteoporosis.
Some Good News
Treatment of the patients with celiac disease with a gluten-free diet for a year resulted in marked improvement in BMD. According to the authors, "The improvement in BMD for celiac disease patients on the gluten-free diet was greater than that expected for osteoporotic patients receiving standard therapy."
If you have osteoporosis, ask your doctor about celiac disease. You might benefit from eliminating wheat and eating a diet plentiful in fruits and vegetables, nuts and other protein foods, beans and lentils, dairy, and more. |
